Note:Springfield’s in the UK provides a raw version of each script. These typically are available by noon the next day, but can be delayed by a day or more. I add the speakers, formatting, and descriptive material when called for. Red’s lines are bolded. Sound effects from the screen caps and my added action notes are in [ square brackets ]. I am sure there are mistakes.

🔴 Script 5:12 The Cook (№ 56)

Brief: Liz hoodwinked both Red and the Cooper by using material evidence (a valuable penny) associated with Blacklister Abraham Stern to steal material evidence (a bloody rag) from police evidence files linking her to the death of Bobby Navarro, a man she believes worked for the man who killed Tom, Blacklister Ian Garvey, who she knows only as the ‘man with the Damascus knife.’ Before she killed Navarro in an altercation, Navarro told her that her ex-fiancé, ER MD Nik Korpal, was helping Tom, not the other way around. She still does not know (though Red does) that Nik was helping Tom ID bones left for Liz by Mr Kaplan, Red’s deceased long-time cleaner, to reveal a buried secret of Red’s. Tom learned whose bones they were from DNA analysis but died before he could tell Liz. Ian Garvey now has the bones, unbeknowst to either Red or Liz. To dispose of Navarro’s body, Liz used the methods employed by S1 Blacklister Stanley Kornish (The Stewmaker) ~ using chemicals to dissolve his body and flush it down a motel room’s bathtub drain. In this process, Liz discovered that Navarro had a glass eye equipped with “next gen” electronics, whose existence she has shared with Red.

♪ Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
I was bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

♪ I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down, and the flames got higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire

♪ The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild
I fell into a burning ring of fire

[ A man with a bald head and scarred back turns on burners in a kitchen. He soaks his clothes in liquid and puts them on wet. He hangs jars with a cloudy liquid from rope strung across a living room. The man sits down in a comfortable chair, cracks open a beer and lights one end of the rope with a lighter. The flame moves along the rope,🔥igniting the liquid in the jars which fall and set the room ablaze🔥The man smiles ]
[ A woman is heard outside the door ]
Woman: Is someone there? I’m going to call the cops.
[ The woman opens the door and is engulfed in flames ] [ SCREAMS ]
[ The man lifts his bottle to the woman ]
[ The man gathers up his ladder and bag and leaves ]

♪ I went down, down, down, and the flames got higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire

♪ Yes, it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire

Liz: I got your message. You found someone who can analyze Navarro’s glass eye?Red: He can see us this afternoon. Did you bring it?
Liz: I know I’m gonna have to answer for what I’ve done, but right now all that matters is we find out who put that in Navarro’s head and whether it can lead us to Tom’s killers – and the truth.Red: The truth?
Liz: The last time I spoke to Tom, he told me, “I figured it out – Why Nik died, everything.” That’s why I went home – to find the truth. But they got to him first.Red: My contact lives with his mother. She’s not particularly fond of me. I’m not quite sure if it’s actually me or what I represent. I believe she feels I’m a bad influence on her son. I thought a gesture of goodwill might smooth things over.
Liz: You think an empty terrarium is goodwill? Whoa!Red: [ LAUGHS ] The mother’s family operates a pet café in Kyoto. You can enjoy the most savory tsukemen ramen in and around a variety of animals native to Japan – cormorants, katydids, the occasional tanuki.
Liz: And you thought spiders would be a welcome addition?Red: Joro spiders. In Japanese folklore, the joro is said to be able to change its appearance to that of a beautiful woman who seduces men, binding them in her web before devouring them. Hence its name “joro-gumo,” or “whore spider.”
Liz: Oh.Red: Here’s the mother’s work address and a note. If you could please drop them off?
Liz: No! Me?Red: I have a time-sensitive case for the Task Force. You did ask me to hold up my part of that deal in your absence.
Liz: Do you know what Tom was talking about? When he said he figured it out?Red: Tom was a man of many truths. Which of those he was going to divulge, I can’t say.

Red: My sincere apologies. I hope Paris has taken good care of you. [ To Paris: ] Tea, please.
Samar: He made me an egg dish I can’t even pronounce. It was divine. As is your suite, which is why in the future, I think we should meet elsewhere.Red: And why is that?
Samar: Because being here gives me the impression that crime pays.Red: [ LAUGHS ] What are the most expensive crimes in America?
Samar: Expensive?Red: Top three.
Samar: Theft, armed robbery–Red: Arson. 500,000 arson fires occur each year, costing over $2 billion in property loss.
Samar: [ Reading ] “Husband and wife die in house fire.”Red: In those 500,000 fires, about 500 people die – one per thousand. Arsonists are many things, but rarely premeditating murderers.
Samar: [ Reading ] “An accelerant was found, but no motive or suspect.”Red: Because they’re looking at the case the wrong way. This wasn’t arson that resulted in murder. This was a murder committed by arson.
Samar: But you said arsonists are rarely murderers.Red: A fact which makes The Cook both rare and dangerous and the next name on the Blacklist.

Aram: Does he know how many fires?
Ressler: Or how many victims?
Samar: No and no.
Ressler: But he says this “Cook” is a serial killer posing as an arsonist.
Cooper: And yet he can’t I.D. The Cook, and the only fire he told us about is one that arson investigators don’t believe was a homicide.
Ressler: I suppose Reddington knows better.
Samar: No, but he knows someone who does. Earl Fagen.
Aram: The arson investigator slash arsonist?
Cooper: Fagen hid in plain sight for years, was lead investigator on a dozen fires that he set. No one knows more about fire or the men and women who set them.
Samar: Reddington says he can help us find The Cook.
Ressler: What’s the catch?
Samar: Fagen is up for parole – he helps us, Reddington would like us to help him.
Cooper: I don’t like it. But if there’s a serial killer out there–
Samar: We don’t need a firebug to find him.
Ressler: Less than 15% of all arson cases are ever solved. Maybe we need the help.
Cooper: I’ll reach out to Main Justice, see if they can get a court order to get Fagen at the scene of last night’s fire. If he helps us get The Cook, maybe, maybe, we’ll put in a good word. If not, we’ll make sure he stays put.

[ DOOR OPENS ]
[ Earl Fagen INHALES AND EXHALES DEEPLY ]
Earl Fagen: Irregular burn patterns, use of accelerants, something with high vapor pressure and low flash points. Man took some time calculating the rate equation. Multiple points of origin. He wanted it to burn hot.
Samar: And why is that?
Fagen: He wanted to see the flashover? Stand back and watch?
Ressler: We’re gonna need a little more than “maybe he wanted to watch.” So, what floated your boat?
Fagen: I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t an element of arousal to the whole thing – a certain gratification. But for me – fire filled the vacuum within me. It gave me a sense of relief.
Ressler: What is it?
Samar: What do you see?
Ressler: Hey. What is it?
Fagen: Might you be able to get me a blacklight?

[ The blacklight buzzes and hums, lighting up a pattern on the wall – An upside-down star – underneath which is written – ]
Ressler: [ Reading ] “Discipline not faith.” What the hell does that mean?
Samar: Why would he leave a message we wouldn’t be able to find?
Fagen: [ SCOFFS ] Boy, oh, boy. Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. Y’all got a real humdinger of a firebug on your hands.
⋘⋙
[ LIQUID BUBBLING ] [ The bald man – the arsonist – drinks from a hot, cloudy, frothy mixture he’s concocted, leans his head back and gargles ]

Aram: All right. We’re still searching nationally, but so far we’ve found four fires under investigation with the same inverted pentagram and inscription.
Cooper: How? I thought he hid them?
Aram: He does, behind a barely burned wall. That is his M.O. Everything burns hot and fast except one wall. Gave us enough to narrow our search.
Samar: How many deaths are we up to?
Aram: Seven. And if you’re looking for a common denominator among the victims, good luck. A married couple in Bethesda, an insurance executive outside Chicago, a mother and son burned to death in an apartment fire in Brooklyn.
Ressler: Are there any survivors, anyone who can tell us why they were targeted?
Aram: It seems that he’s only missed once, when he burned down a small ranch house in Tenleytown. The owner is an ER doctor – Corrine Egan.
Cooper: Navabi, she’s all yours. Ressler, look into the pentagram and the inscription. Find out what the hell we’re dealing with. If this guy’s an occult member or Satanist of some kind, we need to lock in on it fast.

Red: Why didn’t you deliver them?
Liz: I left them for her with your note.Red: You left them. Spiders.
Liz: She wasn’t in her office. What did you expect me to do, drive around with them? Besides, what difference does it make if his mother likes you or not? I mean, it’s not like he’s 16.Red: No, he is not 16. [ KNOCKING AT GATE ] He’s 15.
Tadashi: And a half. Just got my learner’s permit.Red: Elizabeth, this is Tadashi. Is your mom home? Has she said anything about the gift I sent?
Liz: I need to speak with you for a minute. [ WHISPERING ] He’s a child.Red: Who turned down Harvard a year ago, and a job at Face– whatever.
Liz: Face-whatever? Really?Red: Look, I’m a technological moron. I just don’t get it, which is why I surround myself with people who do. Tadashi gets it!
Tadashi: What is thy bidding, my Master?
Liz: [ SIGHS ] Apparently, he also gets “Star Wars.”

Samar: Dr. Egan, I understand this is an unsettling development.
Dr Corrine Egan: You’re saying someone was intentionally trying to kill me? No. The investigator I spoke with said that the fire was arson – that it was set to cover up for something he stole.
Samar: Concealment is a common motive for arson. Unfortunately, there’s nothing common about this.
Dr Egan: What is that?
⋘⋙
Religious Expert: The pentagram represents the five limbs of man – his five senses.
⋘⋙
Samar: It was hidden on a wall in your house. Does it mean anything to you?
Dr Egan: “Discipline not faith”?
⋘⋙
Expert: An inverted pentagram is associated with evil. It depicts the natural order turned on its head.
Ressler: The department chair said that you wrote the book on Satanism. Is there anything in there on why this would be left behind?
⋘⋙
Samar: Have you had any recent altercations, breakups, problems at work?
Dr Egan: Problems? I’m an ER Attending. Yeah, I meet some kooks, but no one who’d wanna burn my house down.
⋘⋙
Expert: I’d say the symbol is an expression of the killer’s belief that his victims deserve to be punished. Purified by fire.
⋘⋙
Samar: Maybe you were not the intended victim. Do you live alone?
Dr Egan: Not that night. My brother was with me. He’d come in from Seattle. That’s what saved me. He was three hours behind and couldn’t sleep. Talked me into going for a run at 11:15. We came back, and the place was in flames.
⋘⋙
Ressler: You said punished. What for?
Expert: Some perceived sin. Maybe he’s saying just having faith isn’t enough. You have to live that faith every day, and that requires great discipline.
⋘⋙
Dr Egan: The guy who did this, he’s still out there, right? Does that mean you think I’m in danger?

[ KEYBOARD CLACKING ]
Liz: Anything? Yoo-hoo!
[ Liz waves in front of Tadashi ] [ CLACKING PAUSES, RESUMES ] Red: I sometimes feel as if I should pay more attention to pop culture. Then I see this “Star Wars,” featuring this giant in a bear costume piloting an aircraft and a little green guy swordfighting. And I say a silent prayer of thanks for Tolstoy’s moral crisis.*
Liz: Oh, if he can’t figure this out–Red: This green fellow is considerably too short to be effective in a swordfight.
Tadashi: I assumed since it was an eye it would record video, but there’s no camera. And I can’t find a mic.
Liz: So, what does it do?
Tadashi: No clue. It’s using encrypted firmware. Even the boot loader is tamper-resistant. This is gonna take a while, assuming I can crack it at all.Red: This is the world we live in now. I suppose we have to trust it.
⋘⋙
Liz: Do you not know, or you can’t say? – The truth Tom discovered. I asked if you knew about it, and you said, “I can’t say.” Does that mean you don’t know, or is “can’t say” some clever turn of phrase that makes it possible for you to be honest and secretive?Red: What is this about?
Liz: You’ve asked me to trust. All I do is trust. I trusted Tom – forgave every lie, believed every promise that he would stop keeping things from me. And then he went off on some secret quest and got himself killed. And now I have killed someone trying to figure out what it was he was keeping from me. And you have kept so many things from me, I would have to be an idiot to believe that this is not one of them. [ Pause ] Thank you.Red: For what?
Liz: For not pulling some Jedi mind trick.Red: I don’t know what that is.
Liz: And yet, you’ve mastered it.
[ KEYBOARD CLACKING ]

Aram: Okay, so Fagen told you The Cook liked to stay and watch, right? Well, it turns out he did. A neighbor told a first responder after the Chicago fire that he noticed a red Honda parked across the street from the victim’s house, which got me thinking. If there are fires in different cities, how did the killer get there?
Cooper: He’s traveling.
Ressler: Which means he rented that Honda.
Aram: I checked, and there are only two rental companies in that city using Hondas, and only one with a model in candy apple red on the streets that night rented to a William Seavers, Baltimore address.
Samar: You’re so cute. Isn’t he so cute?
Cooper: Adorable. Now get to Baltimore and let’s put an end to this thing.

Fagen: Our agreement required my assistance at one crime scene. I’ll help you here, but I expect you to be twice as enthusiastic at my parole hearing.
Ressler: Seavers or whatever his real name is had this place rigged with glass jars with some kind of an accelerant suspended by these strings.
Samar: There were also phrases written on the wall, like in the first crime scene, only visible by blacklight.
Fagen: Maybe he’s not talking to his victims. Maybe he’s also talking to himself.
Samar: What was it like, lying to everyone you worked with, acting like a hero when you were a criminal?
Fagen: You want an honest answer, or are you just trying to make a point?
Samar: Little bit of both.
[ Fagen pours liquid from a tin into a beaker ]
Fagen: Living a lie was worse than prison. The day I confessed was the day I went to jail. That was also the day I was set free.
Ressler: What are you doing?
Fagen: [ SIGHS ]
Samar: If you destroy that, you can say goodbye to your parole.
[ Fagen drips liquid from the beaker onto a slip of paper on the table ]
Fagen: Narrow, rectangular, possibly thermal paper the kind commonly used for–
Ressler: Receipts.
Samar: [ Reading ] Havershim Hardware, two days ago. Ammonium nitrate, saltpeter. Looks like he paid cash, 9:17 p.m.
Fagen: Don’t say anything. Really. My freedom’s the only thanks that I need.

Aram: The security footage from Havershim Hardware – this is from two days ago.
Cooper: That’s him. 9:17 was on the receipt, right, Agent Navabi?
Samar: Yes. And that’s the right height and build.
Ressler: Come on, buddy. Turn around.
Cooper: Holy Mary. Mother of God.
Ressler: A priest. You gotta be kidding me. This guy’s a priest.
Samar: What’s that on his pocket?
Cooper: Is that some sort of cross?
Aram: It looks like the letter “T.”
Cooper: Agent Ressler, talk to someone in semiotics. Let’s see if we can figure out what that pin represents before someone else gets killed.

Woman on PA: This is the final boarding call for passengers. Final call for boarding Flight 232. Final boarding call for Flight 232.

[ A young woman sees a man wearing a clerical collar and approaches him ]
Claire Homan: Where you going?
Tommy Wattles: Hunh? Um, oh work trip.
Claire: But you don’t like to fly. You’re nervous, I can tell.
Wattles: No, no. Not nervous. Just praying for a friend.
Claire: Can I ask you something?
Wattles: Of course.
Claire: I’m not a church person, but my fiancé well, he is, and we’re getting married. [ VOICE BREAKING ] And I did this thing with another guy. It only happened once and– Anyway, Kevin’s flight’s delayed, and I was gonna tell him when he got here. But now, seeing you– maybe it’s the alcohol talking or maybe it’s a sign, but I don’t wanna tell him and lose him. [ TEARFULLY ] If I lost him, I would just–
Wattles: Sweetheart, what’s your name?
Claire: Claire. Claire Homan.
Wattles: Claire. The lust of the flesh, the fervor of the eyes, and the pride of skin comes not from the Father, but from the world. Forgive yourself. Be honest with this man you love. His faith will help him forgive.
Claire: You really believe that?
Wattles: Not me, Claire. God.
[ They stand and hug ]
Claire: Thank you. [ SNIFFLES ] Oh, I am so sorry, how selfish. What about your friend? What about him? What are you gonna tell him to do?
Wattles: I’m going to tell him to find his faith – to not turn his back on God and run. I’m going to tell him to stay and do what, in his heart, he knows he must.
Claire: I’ll pray for him.
Wattles: Please do. [ LAUGHS NERVOUSLY ]

Aram: All right. The Cook is a priest. The quote you saw in blacklight is from Romans, the second from John. To see what else might be written behind those walls, I had the lab run thermographic scans and found this. It’s the cross from the Traditum Church.
Samar: The “T” on his lapel.
Aram: Yep. Traditum Primarius “Tradition First.” It is an extremely fringe order.
Ressler: How many are ordained?
Aram: They won’t release official numbers, but their Temple is in Cromwell, just a few miles outside of Arlington.
Cooper: Ressler, Navabi, get there. Show them Seavers’ photo. If he’s been ordained, maybe we can get an ID.

Liz: You found something?
Tadashi: A serial number on one of the chips. If I find out who makes it, I figure out what it does.
⋘⋙
Dembe: This means everything to her.Red: And to me.
Dembe: For a different reason. She doesn’t know what, but she knows. “Clever turn of phrase” is a polite way of saying you’re being dishonest.
⋘⋙
Tadashi: It’s made by Wandtech.
Liz: And what does that tell you?
Tadashi: Wandtech, Wandtech, Wandtech. Yikes.
Liz: Yikes? Why yikes?
Tadashi: They make GPS devices. [ BEEPING ] Oh, crap. Uh, guys?! Mr. Reddington? I think we have a situation. This thing’s transmitting.Red: What is it transmitting?
Tadashi: Our location!
[ DOOR OPENS ] [ They point their guns at the door. It is Tadashi’s mother ]
Mrs Mariko Ito: You!Red: Mrs Ito.
Mrs Ito: Get out!Red: Did you get my gift?
Mrs Ito: Four spiders no gift.
Tadashi: You gave her four spiders?Red: Venomous members of the golden orb-weaver genus. For your sister’s pet cafe.
Tadashi: In Japanese, four is a homonym for death.
Mrs Ito: First you turn down Harvard. Now you work with a criminal. I am through with you. Finished!
[ THUD, GLASS BREAKING ]Red: Out the back, the hole in the fence.
Mrs Ito: There’s no hole in fence. I stay!Red: They’ll shoot you if you do.
Mrs Ito: Good. End misery.Red: Dembe.
Mrs Ito: Don’t touch me!
Liz: Tom’s killer?Red: Yes, and he could have the advantage.
Liz: We don’t know that.Red: Which is why we have to go. Because we don’t know.
[ FOOTSTEPS NEARING ] [ They leave. Ian Garvey and goons enter but no one is left ]

[ BELLS TOLLING ]
Ressler: Excuse me. Father? Agents Ressler and Navabi, FBI. We were hoping that we could have a word.
Spiritual Director: FBI? What’s this about?
Samar: We’re looking for this man. This is from three days ago.
Spiritual Director: No. That’s not possible.
Ressler: So you know him? We’re conducting a criminal investigation.
Spiritual Director: His name is Thomas Wattles. He goes by Tommy. He was a priest in our Order, but he was stripped of his clerical title about a year ago.
Ressler: You mind telling us why?
Spiritual Director: Mr. Wattles violated his oath of celibacy. Our leadership felt he wasn’t worthy of such an exalted position in the eyes of our Lord.
Samar: We need to find him.
Spiritual Director: I haven’t seen him since he left the Order. You say this is a criminal matter?
Ressler: Yes. We believe he’s setting fires, burning men and women alive.
Spiritual Director: Men? He’s killing men, not just women?
Samar: Why would you say that? If there’s something that you know–
Spiritual Director: I can’t. I’m sorry.
Ressler: As Spiritual Director, it’s your responsibility to hear the confessions of your priests.
Spiritual Director: Yes, but anything Tommy says would be privileged. It would be an unforgivable violation–
Samar: He’s murdering people. And he’ll do it again. The privilege can be violated if you believe he intends to commit future acts of violence. Look at these. [ Shows photos ]
Spiritual Director: My God! They were just fantasies. Visions – That’s what he said. Tommy was having visions of hurting women women he found attractive. He saw it as a personal failing – failing God. He believed he had a calling as a priest. And yet, he found himself having these lustful urges he couldn’t suppress. He was consumed with self-loathing. These women were temptresses, he said, sent by the Devil himself. He said he had dreams of destroying them – burning them. Purification by fire.
Samar: They weren’t dreams, Father. You should’ve said something. I wonder if your God will forgive you for not doing that.

Ressler: [ On phone ] Aram, we got a name – Tommy Wattles.
Aram: Okay, hang on. Searching.
Ressler: The church thinks he’s got some kind of a vendetta out against women he believes are out to “tempt” him.
Samar: Which means he’s had personal encounters with his victims.
Aram: All right. Oh, okay. I’ve got a Thomas Owen Wattles on Fisher Drive in Pimmit Hills.
Cooper: That’s him. Aram, notify Virginia State Police. Put a flag on him – cellphone, vehicle, the works.
Ressler: Look, this guy was willing to torch his own safe house to keep us one step behind. If he hasn’t fled, he will. He knows we’re onto him.
Cooper: Check out the address in Pimmit Hills. Reach out to the two survivors you interviewed – the ER doctor and her brother. Show them Wattles’ photo. Let’s hope that shakes something loose before this guy finds another victim.

Red: I feel terrible, Mariko. I know it’s a small consolation, but I’ve made arrangements for you and Tadashi to stay in the hotel. A two-bedroom suite is yours until it’s safe for you to go back to your home. Room service, 24-hour spa, tickets to any of the shows in town. I hear there’s a revival of “The Music Man” that’s supposed to be marvelous.
⋘⋙
[ MUSIC PLAYS THROUGH HEADPHONES ]Red: [ To Tadashi ] She terrifies me.
Tadashi: She has that effect on people.
Liz: Can they still track us?
Tadashi: I disabled the locator signal. They were using the signal to find us. If I can reverse it, figure out where it came from, I could use it to find them.Red: What makes her happy? Does she like a good foot massage?
Liz: We should have stayed.Red: I do know, by the way.
Liz: We ran, and now we have nothing.Red: What Tom figured out. The truth he uncovered has to do with me.
Liz: I knew it. I knew you were lying.Red: I told Tom not to pursue it.
Liz: What? Pursue what? What is it?Red: An item Mr. Kaplan unearthed that I wish to keep hidden.
Liz: An item? What item?Red: I can’t say.
Liz: Tom died because of it.Red: Tom ignored my warning. That is why he died.
Liz: And this item – Did Tom have it?Red: Yes.
Liz: And now his killers do. That’s why you’re here. That’s– Not to help me, not to avenge Tom’s death, but to help yourself and get your precious secret back.Red: We want the same thing.
Liz: I gave Agnes up until this is over. If I miss even one more day with her than is absolutely necessary because you’re not being completely honest with–Red: But I am being honest. I do know, but I can’t say. I’m not trying to be clever. It’s not an ambiguity. It’s the truth. I have a secret, and I need to keep it even from you.

Ressler: His name’s Tommy Wattles. He purchased an airline ticket to Heathrow, and he never boarded. His last credit card charge was a purchase here last night.
Bartender: Yeah, the priest. He was here.
⋘⋙
Dr Corrine Egan: Corner booth.
Samar: What do you mean, corner booth?
Dr Egan: That’s where he sits at the deli on Riverside. I see him at lunch there all the time.
Samar: Does he come alone?
⋘⋙
Bartender: No, he was with a woman. She moved over, joined him at the table. I assumed they knew each other.
Ressler: Tell me about her.
Bartender: No idea. Passing through, I don’t know.
Ressler: All right. What did she look like?
Bartender: Young, pretty, maybe 30.
Ressler: And he spoke to her?
⋘⋙
Dr Egan: Actually, I was the one who spoke with him, to say thank you. I’d seen him place a to-go order a few days earlier. He walked out and gave it to a man living on the street. The next time I saw him, I told him I’d seen what he did, that I thought it was nice, that I wanted to pay it forward, so I paid for his lunch.
Samar: What did he say?
Dr Egan: He was awkward, like he didn’t know what to say. He could barely make eye contact.
⋘⋙
Ressler: All right. I’m gonna need to see your receipts, surveillance footage, anything that might help identify her.
Bartender: You really think she’s in trouble?
⋘⋙
Dr Egan: Why?! Because I paid for his lunch? Because I-I somehow “tempted” him? He tried to kill me for that?
⋘⋙
Ressler: Look, all I can tell you right now is that the woman that was here last night with him, she’s in real danger, and I need your help to find her.

Cooper: Okay, let’s step it out. Tell me exactly where we are, what we know.
Samar: Our suspect, Tommy Wattles, was expelled from the Order of Traditum after engaging in sexual acts with a female member of the church.
Ressler: Which led Wattles to harboring a deep hatred towards women.
Samar: Women he thinks are demons and temptresses.
Cooper: Women he doesn’t know.
Ressler: Right. And far as we can tell, none of the victims have had a relationship with Wattles, let alone a sexual one.
Cooper: This woman from the airport bar last night was a stranger.
[ BEEPING ]
Ressler: We are still working on an ID for her.
Aram: Wait a second. Hang on here. I think the Bureau’s facial recognition software may have just found a match with the CCTV footage from the airport hotel. Okay, Claire Anne Homan, 26, graphic designer at a boutique firm in Arlington.
Ressler: If he’s still in the city, she’s the reason why.
Cooper: Ressler, Navabi, get to her house. Notify VSP and Fire. Aram, see if you can get this woman on the phone. Let her know we may have a situation on our hands.
Aram: Copy, sir.

Aram: So, I’ve been trying the woman from the hotel bar, Claire Homan.
Cooper: You told her what’s going on?
Aram: I can’t get through. Sir, I, uh I have a bad feeling about this. I think Wattles may already be there.

[ Wattles has Claire wrapped to a chair with plastic wrap ]
Wattles: It’s ironic you found me the way you did, in that bar, in a moment of weakness. Trying to offer your flesh. It felt more like a sign than a test, really. Through you, I could feel my calling to God was solidified.
Claire: [ MUFFLED SPEECH ] I don’t– Why are you doing this? What did I do to you?
[ He kisses her then slaps her ] [ SOBS ]

Ressler: We’re five minutes out. Talk to me.
Aram: Trying to make contact. Still no answer on her cell. VSP and Fire are en route.
Samar: Aram, please try again. We’re almost there.
Aram: Okay, just hurry.

Ressler: Take the girl. I got him. He’s outside!
Samar: [ To Claire ] Are you okay? I’ll come back.
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
Ressler: Tommy, stop! Stop! Put it down, Tommy.
Wattles: That woman inside, Claire, she taunted me with her sex! Do you know about the ritual of the auto-da-fé?
Ressler: Put that down and we can talk about it.
Wattles: The burning of the fallible human form, cleansing those that may yet achieve salvation, giving the irredeemable sinner their first foretaste of Hell. And, for the observer, the chance to confront one’s own transgressions.
Ressler: Tommy, I know you’re hurting. I know you think you’re doing the right thing, but this doesn’t end well. Trust me! Come on, Tommy. We need your help.
Samar: Tommy, no.
Wattles: It’s the road to salvation.
[ GLASS SHATTERS ] [ The flammable liquid pours over him ]
Wattles: To redemption and purity, and I’m not afraid! Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned! – [ LIGHTER CLICKS ] [ 🔥He bursts into flames 🔥 ]
Ressler: Tommy, no!
[ GASPS ]
Ressler: Jesus Christ.

[ DOORBELL RINGS ] [ KNOCK ON DOOR ]Red: Samar, any news?
Samar: We caught the Blacklister. Hey, Liz.
Liz: Hey.Red: And Fagen?
Samar: He’s having his parole hearing later today. Why is that woman staring at you?Red: Apparently the number four is bad luck in Japan. Who knew?
[ BEEPING ]
Tadashi: Yes, yes, yes!
Liz: You traced the signal.
Tadashi: Not only that, I Waze’d the location – 32 minutes, even with those crazy left turns they make you take.
Samar: Do I even want to know what’s happening here?
Liz: It’s about Tom. We think we found who killed him.
Samar: That’s great.
[ DOORBELL RINGS ]
Samar: Tell me who it is and I’ll call it in.
Liz: We gotta go.
Samar: Liz, you shouldn’t do this on your own.
[ DOOR OPENS ]
Woman: You called for a spa treatment?Red: Ah, yes! Please, do come in. I ordered an avocado/cucumber scrub. [ To Mrs Ito ] I guarantee you’ll feel like a new woman.
[ Mrs Ito’s scowl softens slightly ]Red: Or not.
Tadashi: May the force be with you.Red: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

[ Red, Dembe and Liz break in a door ]
Liz: This place is staged. This is my fault. We had him. Damascus was right outside the door. We had him and we let him go. That eye was our last lead.
[ They enter a room with wires cut, machine racks empty ]Red: We need to get this thing analyzed.
Dembe: The data was certainly wiped clean.Red: We don’t need the data. We need the person who built it. It’s sophisticated, custom-built by someone who does business with Damascus. I want a name and a–
Liz: What? What is it?
[ On a white table top is written: “WE KNOW THE TRUTH” ]

Ressler: Mr. Fagen’s help was instrumental in helping us close the case. Because of his cooperation, we took a very dangerous criminal off the streets, saved a lot of lives in the process.
Parole Board Member: Are you recommending parole?
Ressler: I don’t know Mr. Fagen or whether he’s remorseful for what he’s done. I’m here to tell what I know.
Parole Board Member: Thank you, Agent Ressler. We’ll take your testimony int–
Ressler: I-I used to think in terms of black and white. You were either a bad guy or you weren’t. I’m not sure about that anymore. Under the right circumstances, I’ve come to believe that even the best of us are capable of – almost anything. I only mention that because, well, I figure everyone deserves a second chance.

Samar: The parole board was unanimous. Fagen is being released.
Cooper: You think that was the right call?
Samar: He was sentenced for 14 years, served 11. On balance, I do.
Cooper: And Reddington – Any idea why he wanted Fagen to be released?

♪ No signal
There’s no signal
No signal
There’s just noise

♪ No signal
There’s no signal
No signal
There’s just noise

[ Fagen is released. He exits. Red’s Mercedes pulls up to him ]Red: Hello, Mr. Fagen.
Fagen: Reddington. How did you know I was getting out?Red: You owe me your freedom. It doesn’t matter how I obtained it. What matters is that I did.
Fagen: Look, if this is about that fire at Fritzles, I had no idea you were–Red: I expect two things in return. First, you won’t so much as light a match. Second, when you do, it’ll be at my instruction.
Fagen: You want me to set a fire?Red: I’ll be in touch.

♪ Why idolize what is nearly gone?
Just to focus my hearing on
Through the static hiss
In a world that’s viral

[ Liz and Red are watching Agnes at her daycare ]Red: I know how hard this is.

♪ The transmission sings out, blah, blah, blah

Liz: I need your help to find Tom’s killer. I need it, but I don’t know if I can trust it.

♪ There’s no signal, no signal

Red: You won’t miss a day more with her than is absolutely necessary. You have my word.
Liz: And you have mine. That I’m gonna honor Tom’s dying wish.Red: Which was?
Liz: For me to know your truth.

Note: Maria Popova: Leo Tolstoy on Finding Meaning in a Meaningless World ~ “For man to be able to live he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life as will connect the finite with the infinite.”http://bit.ly/2C2rQTc

“Shortly after turning fifty, Leo Tolstoy (September 9, 1828–November 10, 1910) succumbed to a profound spiritual crisis. With his greatest works behind him, he found his sense of purpose dwindling as his celebrity and public acclaim billowed, sinking into a state of deep depression and melancholia despite having a large estate, good health for his age, a wife who had born him fourteen children, and the promise of eternal literary fame. On the brink of suicide, he made one last grasp at light amidst the darkness of his existence, turning to the world’s great religious and philosophical traditions for answers to the age-old question regarding the meaning of life. In 1879, a decade after War and Peace and two years after Anna Karenina, and a decade before he set out to synthesize these philosophical findings in his Calendar of Wisdom, Tolstoy channeled the existential catastrophe of his inner life in A Confession (public library) — an autobiographical memoir of extraordinary candor and emotional intensity, which also gave us Tolstoy’s prescient meditation on money, fame, and writing for the wrong reasons.”

⭕ Episode Songs ⇈ and Photos ⇊

Episode 5:12 The Cook is available as a Twitter “Moment” (or two or three). Results vary by browser and app. Advantages are it’s chronological and the photos and captions are together. Also, Twitter photos are higher resolution than the WordPress photos on this blog. Disadvantages: Each Moment can include no than 100 Tweets (so there are sometimes more than one Moment per episode). And, for best results, you will want a Twitter account. (You can do what Red would do and use an alias: the only real info it requires is a phone number to make sure you’re not a bot.)